Making big coffee seem small: Starbucks unveils the Clover

The coffee giant is today unveiling the Clover, the highly praised drip coffee machine Starbucks acquired from a Ballard startup in March.

The Clover has been testing in three Seattle Starbucks stores, but today will be available in 10 – along with a series of small batch coffees Starbucks has introduced to both show what the machine can do and further its episodic efforts to make big coffee seem small.

In this installment, Starbucks’ small batch coffee menu will change monthly, follow what’s in season and even – gasp! – run out every now and then.

That’s right. Starbucks is so desperate to resemble local coffee companies, it’s even adopting their inconveniences.

The Clover is described as the first commercial-grade machine to give baristas consistent, independent control over the four variables of drip coffee: water temperature, coffee grind, coffee-to-water ratio and brew time.

It’s already available at the handful of local coffee shops that bought it before Starbucks took it over – including Trabant Coffee at 602 2nd Ave. and at 1309 NE 45th St., Caffe Vita at 1005 E Pike St., and Zoka Coffee at 2200 N 56th St.

Here’s where you can find the Starbucks Clover machines and those small batch coffees, priced according to the market: